Vincor Does It Again: Finale!! (Part Three Of A Three Part Series, Scroll Down for Parts 1&2)
Inniskillin: Dedication!
There are those who say that life is a competition and that competitors can't be friends. It that is the case, someone forgot to tell the winery owners. They turned out in masses to give their best wishes to the winery that started it all. To empower the two men who began with a dream and turned that dream not only to their reality but to the reality of those vast numbers who came after throughout Canada. Henry of Pelham, Creekside, Konzellmann Winery, Southbrook's Redelmeir Family were all their urging team Inniskillin on! Jean Charles Boisset of Boisset, La Familie des Grande Vins, dashing and charming as ever, was there to give his wishes.
The brass was their from the Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Mr. Fonseca to Minister of Transport (formerly of Tourism and a great wine lover) the Honourable Jim Bradley to the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General (also Bruce Nicholson's brother) and Canadian Consul General for the U.S.A. Stephen Breton!
Mr. Jay Wright, President and CEO of Vincor Canada (a Constellation company) was there alongside Debi Pratt, Inniskillins Public Relations Manager to host the event.
I would have given anything to feel the nostalgia yet surge of pride that Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser felt that day. To feel it would have meant that I had achieved it. To achieve it, one had to start it. To start it one had to think of it and have the courage----against all odds----to go ahead and do it Fiction would seem more of a reality.
It was good to see this collaborative effort come to such conclusion. After all the speeches and best wishes, Inniskillin was there in many ways a monument to what dreams can do and what people can do to dreams. Inniskillin will always be there and though Ziraldo and Kaiser may not be there; their spirits will live on as will all those who walk in their paths. Ziraldo once said in an interview: "No matter where I go and how far I am, my heart is always at Inniskillin!"
Indeed!!!
Epilogue
The drive from Inniskillin back to Toronto was a long one and I still had the Go Train to catch back to Whitby. It was a full day and also one that was quite tiring. I reflected, about the achievements made since that special day in 1975. I reflected on how now wineries stretch from 'sea to sea'. There are well over 300 wineries in Canada now with many more in the making. Canada stands at the top of the wine map of the world. Much has to do with the dedication of those like Ziraldo and Kaiser and it continues through companies such as Vincor.Vincor, through its efforts to further Cool Climate Technology and 'Grow Our Own' scholarship programs with Brock U and Niagara College as well as its help to fledgling wineries such as Nk'Mip in B.C., has maintained a standard that is recognized throughout the world. It has proven to all those doubters that great wine can not only be made but that it can excel. It can strive to reach greatness! As the Greek writer,Longinus once stated: "It can be sublime!"
There are those who say that life is a competition and that competitors can't be friends. It that is the case, someone forgot to tell the winery owners. They turned out in masses to give their best wishes to the winery that started it all. To empower the two men who began with a dream and turned that dream not only to their reality but to the reality of those vast numbers who came after throughout Canada. Henry of Pelham, Creekside, Konzellmann Winery, Southbrook's Redelmeir Family were all their urging team Inniskillin on! Jean Charles Boisset of Boisset, La Familie des Grande Vins, dashing and charming as ever, was there to give his wishes.
The brass was their from the Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Mr. Fonseca to Minister of Transport (formerly of Tourism and a great wine lover) the Honourable Jim Bradley to the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General (also Bruce Nicholson's brother) and Canadian Consul General for the U.S.A. Stephen Breton!
Mr. Jay Wright, President and CEO of Vincor Canada (a Constellation company) was there alongside Debi Pratt, Inniskillins Public Relations Manager to host the event.
I would have given anything to feel the nostalgia yet surge of pride that Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser felt that day. To feel it would have meant that I had achieved it. To achieve it, one had to start it. To start it one had to think of it and have the courage----against all odds----to go ahead and do it Fiction would seem more of a reality.
It was good to see this collaborative effort come to such conclusion. After all the speeches and best wishes, Inniskillin was there in many ways a monument to what dreams can do and what people can do to dreams. Inniskillin will always be there and though Ziraldo and Kaiser may not be there; their spirits will live on as will all those who walk in their paths. Ziraldo once said in an interview: "No matter where I go and how far I am, my heart is always at Inniskillin!"
Indeed!!!
Epilogue
The drive from Inniskillin back to Toronto was a long one and I still had the Go Train to catch back to Whitby. It was a full day and also one that was quite tiring. I reflected, about the achievements made since that special day in 1975. I reflected on how now wineries stretch from 'sea to sea'. There are well over 300 wineries in Canada now with many more in the making. Canada stands at the top of the wine map of the world. Much has to do with the dedication of those like Ziraldo and Kaiser and it continues through companies such as Vincor.Vincor, through its efforts to further Cool Climate Technology and 'Grow Our Own' scholarship programs with Brock U and Niagara College as well as its help to fledgling wineries such as Nk'Mip in B.C., has maintained a standard that is recognized throughout the world. It has proven to all those doubters that great wine can not only be made but that it can excel. It can strive to reach greatness! As the Greek writer,Longinus once stated: "It can be sublime!"
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 10:07 AM
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